Stacked Bar Charts

A stacked bar chart is a graphical representation of data in the form of rectangles that are divided in accordance with the data they represent. The bars are divided graphically using distinct color-coding or texture to identify the category of the metric. These charts may be vertical or horizontal, but all segments occur in an ascending order from left to right, or from bottom to top.

In a stacked bar chart, the bars are typically separated using color in a rising order. It resembles a line graph in that the end of each bar segment is like a plotted point. Some claim that these charts suffer from clarity issues as a result of design, but this only occurs when they are overloaded with information. Small datasets can be represented effectively.

A stacked bar chart is a variant of a standard bar chart that is designed to exploit the clarity and power of bar charts and expand their scope. It also acts as a replacement for multiple charts. Stacked bar charts can eliminate the need for a bar chart, line graph, and pie chart. They also act as a viable replacement for those graphs without offering an overloaded chart. Other options lose clarity and simplicity, that graphs were created to provide, when they mix chart designs.

Stacked bar charts are also a replacement for other bar chart variants that suffer from issues related to clarity and practical use. 3D bar charts appear to expand the scope of bar charts, but they suffer from issues with quick and clear interpretation. Stacked bar charts offer the same performance, but also the same simplicity and clarity of standard bar charts. Stacked bar charts are also more simple to create than 3D bar charts. Stacked bar charts only require that the user slightly modify a standard chart, but 3D charts require the user to pay much more attention to detail, interpretation, and design.